Looking for genuine natural tobacco? Here is a timeless collection of classic varieties from around the world preserved for generations! Browse the Seed Bank and study the details and pictures of each variety available.

Growing tobacco in the home garden is not difficult. This backyard garden pictured above is 12 feet by 16 feet, and produces four to five pounds of tobacco per crop. Plant native and traditional
heirloom tobacco seed in your own home garden. Make use of the information on the Garden Page and other resources on this site. Learn how to harvest and cure homegrown tobacco. Make sure to save the seed for future crops. Gradually you will develop
respect for the wonders of genuine natural tobacco. Your growing appreciation of this great plant may even change the way you use it.

A landscape tobacco garden is a great way to get started. A full size traditional backyard garden may seem intimidating to novice home gardeners. Select a good size flower garden around your house, and transform it into a small scale tobacco garden. The picture below
is a landscape tobacco garden of Guatamala Virginia (front row) and
Xanthi (back row). Mouseover for a look at the crop at maturity. The
leaf was air dried, jar cured, and was aged just over a year before the
first rich and flavorful sample!

The quality of
home grown natural tobacco is remarkably superior to any commercial tobacco
product. A well tended home tobacco garden can produce the finest leaf around. Harvested,
dried and cured properly natural tobacco from the home tobacco garden can produce
the best tobacco available anywhere in the world.

Growing tobacco is not expensive or difficult, and in fact can result in substantial savings! Tobacco grown in the home garden requires the same conditions as tomatoes or peppers. The most important thing is tobacco seed. Most commercial tobacco seed is genetically modified or chemically treated to enhance germination and seedling survival rate. Here at Heirloom Tobacco the goal is to make genuine natural tobacco a more widely available alternative to toxic commercial tobacco industry products.

The Seed Bank features many native traditional and old world tobacco seed varieties. These are authentic ancestral primitive strains of natural tobacco, passed down and cultivated for generations. Look through the full color pictures and
specification details of each variety: Barinas, Bosikapal, Daule,
Glauca, Habano, Kesu, Little Dutch, Mopan Maya, Pretinho, Shirazi, Guatemala
Virginia, Xanthi, and Yumbo. Check out the new varieties in the HT Seed Bank: Crillo, Vuelta Abajo, Peruvian Madole Tabaco, and Gold Leaf Orinoco. These new varieties now available in the HT Seed Bank! You can order seeds directly by email - it's easy, and you can even use Pay Pal to make ordering quick and painless.

The Tobacco Gardenpage will help you plan a productive home tobacco garden. Check the Garden page frequently for seasonal
updates and other features to help your tobacco garden thrive. If you
are growing tobacco, share your experience, ask for advice or tips, I'm always glad to help those who are growing tobacco for the
first time. Just contact me by email.

The Smoking Hawkspage is just for
natural tobacco smokers, and is dedicated to helping natural tobacco smokers get the most from their home tobacco gardens. This page also offers curing and processing supplies and smoking accessories: Genuine Justo Fulgarius
cigar molds, Chaveta Tobacco Knives, and more. You can order directly by email - it's easy, and you can even use Pay Pal to make ordering quick and painless.

Resources for home tobacco gardeners and small tobacco farmers include tobacco growing information as well as recommended books and links. Check out the FAQs for answers to some of the most basic questions. I'd like to say thanks to those of you who have purchased my book. Your investment will pay off as your home tobacco garden thrives and your tobacco stores grow. I'm still working on the finishing touches for the E-Book version of my book. I hope to get it out later this year.

Our connection with mother earth
is threatened by neglect, largely due to the accelerated expansion of
technology. The more technology automates our life
experience, the less direct experience we have with nature and the
natural environment. In the midst of encroaching artificiality, and a
collapsing ecosystem, it seems a small thing to dig in the dirt and
grow a plant - any plant. In fact, it is no small thing. It establishes our green living connection to our roots deep in mother earth while
we branch out through progress in science and technology into a virtual
cyber-world.

Too many have forgotten what soil feels like in their hands. Little or
nothing is known about the natural seasons or the cycles of the moon for
planting, cultivating, and harvest. A home gardener learns knowledge,
skills, and acquires techniques cooperating with and participating in
the creative processes of nature. In the home tobacco garden you not
only cultivate plants, you also cultivate yourself.

Some tobacco products claim to be ‘natural’

Natural tobacco is superior to commercial tobacco products in a few critical ways. Natural means natural genetics, no toxic chemical fertilizers or pesticides, no artificial curing or processing, just pure unadulterated natural tobacco leaf. Remarkable flavor, potency, and variety, as well as outstanding quality are distinctive of natural Heirloom Tobacco.

Natural Genetics - Natural tobacco seeds are not genetically modified or manipulated artificially in a laboratory (NGMO). Nature’s laboratory depends on open pollination in the garden to produce natural genetic diversity. Ancestral varieties of tobacco seeds are classed as ‘primitive’ or ‘natural cultivars’ and generally breed true with very little genetic diversity. These heirloom tobacco seed cultivars are the genetic building blocks of genuine natural tobacco.

Naturally Cultivated - Growing tobacco naturally does not involve harsh chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides. Some of the most serious health hazards related to tobacco are exponentially compounded by pervasive use of toxic chemicals by the commercial tobacco industry. Natives and traditional tobacco growers have cultivated their crops naturally for many generations before the petrochemical industry offered their 'wonders' of science and technology.

Naturally Cured & Processed - Natural tobacco is not artificially cured by the use of high temperatures or application of chemical additives. Kiln curing and flu curing at temperatures of almost 200 degrees F artificially accelerates the curing process. It does not allow for the slower process of natural biosynthesis in natural leaf fermentation, but rather produces an unnatural profile of residual compounds. Pure natural tobacco flavor and aroma is produced by simple natural processes known and practiced over many generations.

Tobacco produced and processed naturally is truly a rare delight!

The flavor and aroma of natural tobacco from the home
garden is outstanding, and the diversity of varieties is remarkable.
Growing tobacco from heirloom tobacco seed includes ‘native traditional’ and ‘old world classic’ varieties.

Native Traditional
tobaccos are said to originate in South America (Peru, Bolivia,
Ecuador) and spread into Brazil, Central America (Honduras, Guatemala,
Costa Rica), and the Carrabien islands (Cuba, Dominican Republic, and
Trinidad). Tobacco later spread across oceans and around the planet by
Spanish and Dutch explorers.

Old World Classic tobaccos are
those cultivated in various countries regionally for their choice
qualities. In North America the ‘Old Belt’ states of Virginia, North
Carolina, and as far south as Florida once grew some of the old
classics. Countries around Turkey and as far East as India are host to
the classic Oriental tobaccos (some trace their genetic roots to
ancestral South American varieties).

Home grown tobacco ... a timeless treasure!

Across the world and over the ages, growing tobacco was done
traditionally in family gardens. It was cultivated by Native Americans
for centuries before colonialists in North America grew so much of it
that it soon became one of their first commodities exported to Europe.
The historical record notes that tobacco from the colonies was preferred
in Europe as superior to their own. Again today, with tough economic
times there is a growing interest in a home tobacco garden.

Natural tobacco grown from heirloom tobacco seed in the home garden is incomparable to commercial tobacco. It is richer in flavor and
packs a more powerful punch. A small amount of natural tobacco is
enjoyed much more especially blended with traditional herbal blends.
Heirloom tobacco from the home garden is perhaps the best quality
natural tobacco anywhere in the world. By growing tobacco in your own
garden, you not only dramatically improve the quality of tobacco, but
eventually even change how and why you use it.

Quality is the first concern. "Can I grow tobacco as good or better than
commercial farmers, or will I invest time and effort and end up with
un-smokable crap?" Everyone seems to have heard the story about
somebody, who knew this guy, who grew his own tobacco once, and it was
the worst throat choking eye stinging stuff imaginable. The truth is, if
he had no more experience than growing tobacco once, then it is no
surprise that the results choked. Improperly grown and poorly cured
tobacco can be unpleasant to say the least. Even a little knowledge gained from our ancestors can make a big difference!

Growing tobacco in the home garden promotes the spirit of
independence, self reliance, and freedom from the profiteering tyranny
of the tobacco industry. Why pay outrageous prices and taxes for
inferior noxious products? As tobacco prices skyrocket, it makes
sense to grow your own tobacco.

Growing Tobacco is not difficult ... indoors or out.

The average life cycle of the tobacco plant is about 70
to 100 days. Different species of tobacco mature at different rates,
from 10 up to 16 weeks. During this time, tobacco seeds sprout, grows to
maturity, flower and sets seed. Consider your own resources of time,
energy and level of enthusiasm when deciding on growing tobacco in your
home garden.

If you already have a home garden, use native or
traditional heirloom tobacco seed and just add a row or two of tobacco.
If you grow house plants in containers, then a growing tobacco in a
container garden is the most direct route to where you want to go. Or
you can go hydroponic, take total control of your home tobacco garden
and grow year round bumper crops!

The cost of a home garden is minimal - and rewards are amazing!

There is really no specialized equipment required for
growing tobacco (some are useful but not necessary, unless you chose a
hydroponic garden). Whatever you use to grow a vegetable or flower
garden at home is basically the same for tobacco. Improvise inexpensive alternatives, recycle, share and renew.
The home tobacco garden produces natural tobacco from mother earth, and
returns it to father sky through its smoke. The home tobacco garden is
a symbol of our determination in the midst of technological advances to
remember and respect our connection to mother earth. By growing tobacco naturally in the home garden,
we declare our independence of the corruption and greed of the
commercial tobacco industry, and advance into the future remembering to
harvest an enduring respect for what mother earth has taught us -
freedom, independence, and self-rule are responsibilities that require
vigilant care and cultivation.

Legal Disclaimer - Heirloom Tobacco Com does not support the use of tobacco by persons under the age allowed by law. This site is for adults of legal age in compliance with the law, and that any person viewing this site is aware of the potential health risks involved with the use of tobacco and accepts personal responsibility for their own personal health choices.